A problem which is most common with peace officers is the necessity to wear heavy gear. Duty or utility belts are most commonly worn by peace officers. These belts are used to hold the necessary gear that a peace officer uses which typically include a firearm and holster, handcuffs in a handcuff case, an ammunition case, a baton, a flashlight, pepper spray, a knife a microphone and a police case radio. This equipment can collectively weigh between 8 and 13 pounds. The duty belt is held to the pants belt by keepers which pass under the pants belt and snap over the duty belt transferring the weight on the duty belt to the pants belt. This weight supported by a wearer's belt through the keepers can place a strain on the lower back and hips of the officer. Furthermore, the weight of such gear continuously pulls downwardly on the wearer's belt and can cause the duty belt to move downwardly from its preferred location. Still further, the belt must be worn beneath the jacket. In cold weather, the jacket my cover the belt, and require the wearer to lift the bottom of the jacket in order to gain access to the belt. This can be cumbersome and can interfere with the wearer completing his or her task.
Emergency medical personnel, firefighters, military personnel and rescue squad personnel also must carry a great deal of gear on their person. These personnel also are subject to the same problems as the above-discussed peace officers. For the purposes of this disclosure, all of the just-mentioned personnel will be referred to as public safety personnel.
Therefore, there is a need for a jacket that can be worn by public safety personnel which will permit that person to have convenient access to a utility belt at all times without interfering with the wearer carrying out his or her task. Furthermore, in addition to public safety worker, other workers, tradesmen, sportsmen, hobbyists and others must carry and retain tools or other supplies within easy reach to accomplish their various tasks. Ideally, a means for transporting tools and accessories should minimize strain on the user's back and over-heating, while enabling the user to use readily available tool and accessory pouches.
Tool belts have been used to carry tools and other items and a great many tool pouches and other accessory carriers have been adapted for attachment to them. Unfortunately however, tool belts generally create an uneven strain on the back of the user and are often bulky and uncomfortable to wear. So though using a tool belt may provide a user a wide selection of tool and accessory pouches, it is at a cost to the user's back, legs and general comfort.
Utility vests, by contrast, generally are more comfortable to wear and create less strain on the back and legs of a user. However, these do not provide the user with the wide selection of generic and readily available tool pouches available for use with tool belts, requiring instead that a user purchase pouches with specialized means of attachment to the vest.
Therefore, there is a need for a jacket or other such wearing apparel that will allow a wearer to have ready access to tools, supplies and the like associated with their job.